A Russian cargo plane has been sitting at Toronto Airport for months, now it could go to Ukraine. That would make new sanctions plans by the Canadian government possible.
A long-term parking space at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport costs the equivalent of around 730 euros per day – the Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr now has a huge bill there. Since an Antonov An-124 from their fleet has been detained there since February 2022 due to sanctions against Russia, the owners already owe the airport more than 270,000 euros in parking fees, according to the aviation news portal Aerotelegraph.
New sanctions plans by the Canadian government could now release the airline from the obligation to pay – but also cost you the plane.
Ukraine: Plane to be confiscated
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the Canadian government intends to put together an additional package of sanctions that will be “particularly aimed at the Volga-Dnepr company.” Shmyhal, who met with government officials in Canada last week, shared the news on his Facebook account.
The new punitive measures are about “the confiscation of the An-124 aircraft and other assets of the aggressor in Canada and the transfer to Ukraine”. The Prime Minister assumes that the Canadians will hand over the air freighter to the Ukrainian military.
The Canadian Ministry of Transport recently said that the Volga-Dnepr cargo plane in question had not been confiscated and should go back to the owner after the end of the sanctions regime. Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Canada, like many other countries, has banned the arrival and departure of Russian-registered or Russian-owned aircraft.
